NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion Wrestling team came up just short losing 21-19 to the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Friday evening in their Mid-American Conference opener at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

"Obviously tonight's match was a barn burner and came down to the last match," said ODU head coach Steve Martin. "We lost at heavyweight, which is disappointing for us. I thought that our 125 pounder Jerome Robinson competed well. At 141, I thought Mecate had a great performance. I thought Lenny Richardson had a great performance, as well as Tristan Warner who has been solid for us all year long. It was good to see Billy Curling get points on the board; that being the first MAC win for him. As a team we have to get in better shape, that's the bottom line."

ODU picked up fall victories by No. 12 Chris Mecate at 141 pounds and by No. 20 Alexander Richardson at 149 pounds. At 174 pounds, ODU also had Billy Curling score a major decision victory that highlighted the evening.

The night began at 125 pounds where ODU’s Jerome Robinson made his surprising debut on the season. Robinson led 2-0 on EMU’s No. 26 Jared Germaine. Germaine would score a takedown and win 4-2, as ODU trailed 3-0 after the first matchup.

At 141 pounds, Old Dominion’s No. 12-ranked Chris Mecate took on EMU’s Nick Barber. Mecate scored both a takedown and a near fall to give him the 5-0 lead. It would not be long after as Mecate pinned Barber at 2:44, which gave ODU six team points as they trailed 9-6.

ODU’s No. 20-ranked Alexander Richardson battled EMU’s Matt VanCuren in the fourth matchup of the night. Richardson didn’t take too long as he picked up the fall victory at 1:29, which gave ODU the 12-9 team lead.

At 157, ODU’s No. 17-ranked Tristan Warner picked up a 9-2 decision win. During his match Warner scored a takedown and two near falls to give him the victory and help ODU take a commanding 15-9 lead into the intermission.

Billy Curling (174 pounds) scored five takedowns in his match against EMU’s Mike Curby. Curling helped lift the Monarchs with a 12-4 major decision win and gave ODU a comfortable 19-12 lead.

ODU will take a short break from duals as the team travels to Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, Dec. 14 for the Cleveland State Open. The Monarchs next dual is Dec. 16 as they travel to Kent State for a MAC conference showdown.